History - Charts - Official Music Videos
In 1988, a few months after the other European countries, England finally surrendered to the spirit of italo-dance. Despite (or, perhaps, thanks to) a censored clip, Boys climbed to #3, a feat for an Italian female singer. Determined to consolidate the breakthrough of his protégée in this market, Menzione decided that Sabrina should work with the most famous hits-makers of the time: Stock, Aitken & Waterman (aka SAW). He probably also wanted to prove to the Italian audience, medias and music industry (who despised her) that she was a European star and not only a local minor singer. Thus, Sabrina traveled to London to PWL studios to record a song especially written for her and which would become her next single, All of me. Sabrina was immediately struck by the professionalism of this team that made the remix of the track in just 20 minutes as she would later recount. Opportunist or fair-play, SAW didn't hesitate to refer to Boys in the chorus of their song (Boy Oh Boy). With this track, the famous legend-team tried to settle down Sabrina's sexy-naughty image in order to "sell" her better to their teen audience. The lyrics were actually quite innocent and romantic contrary to Sabrina's previous singles. But Sabrina's manager knew that they would need something more to win over European audiences. Therefore a first sexy video was shot on an Italian beach. This video, in which she was giving "all of her", was a veritable parade of swimsuits and was considered too provoking for the British audience. So, a second video was shot in studio for the British market. This video which was quite minimalistic as Sabrina was dancing on a white background fitted well with the freshness of the song. Surrounded by two gay-friendly black dancers and two blond male "cover models", she sang with a lot of enthusiasm. It was actually Sabrina's most professional video as her early clips had always been cheaply produced.
All of me was released in continental Europe in late June and became a top 20 hit in many countries.
Strangely, In Italy, the single was released shortly after My chico. Actually, Sabrina promoted both songs during summer, especially at the Festivalbar Festival. The sales of the single All of me were boosted after My chico had reached the top 10, becoming Sabrina's biggest hit in her native country. In Italy a promo double A-side 12" and a maxi CD were released, featuring mixes of both songs.
In France, All of me charted after the re-release of the single with a slightly different picture sleeve. The song stayed more than 4 months in the charts like in Germany. It was also a huge hit in Scandinavia, especially in Finland (once again) where it peaked at #2.
In the UK, the release of All of me followed the success of Boys and entered the charts in October but was a minor hit, peaking at #25. The sales were probably disappointing for SAW who were used to reach the top 10 with most of their productions. This probably explains why the single wasn't released in Australia and Japan.
In 1989, All of me was finally released in Portugal and Spain but the chart positions remain unknown. Though, it seems that it didn't reach the top 15 in Spain. In Mexico, All of me was released in June as a double A-side single (with Like a yo-yo).
The same year the song became a big hit in Russia, Eastern Europe and also in Turkey where Super Sabrina reached the first position on the album charts. In South Africa and Malaysia, a juke-box 7" was issued but, as far as we know, the single didn't have a commercial release.
With hindsight, it's a pity that All of me was the only real collaboration between Sabrina and Stock Aitken & Waterman. If their team would later remix My chico and Like a yoyo, another song could have helped Sabrina to solidify her international career.
The song remains one of the favorites among Sabrina's fans. Of course, she re-recorded it in June for her comeback album Erase / Rewind.
In 2015, the reissue label Edsel released a beautiful boxset titled „Say I´m your Number One“, a set of maxi CDs of songs written and /or produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. Of course, All of me was part of it in the form of a maxi CD with six versions of the song, featuring two previously unreleased instrumentals.
Charts
COUNTRY |
HIGHEST POSITION |
CHART ENTRY DATE |
CHART HISTORY |
Italy |
13 |
Unknown |
#34 on August 20, 1988 and then 15, 13, ?, 24, 14… |
France |
15 |
23/07/1988 |
30, 29, 24, 21, 22, 20, 20, 23, 15, 17, 19, 18, 22, 27, 25, 29, 38, 46 (18 weeks) |
Germany |
14 |
25/07/1988 |
(16 weeks) |
The Netherlands |
90 |
30/07/1988 |
94, 91, 90 (3 weeks) |
Switzerland |
12 |
31/07/1988 |
20, 19, 12, 13, 18, 22, 26 |
Finland |
2 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
UK |
25 |
01/10/1988 |
51, 38, 31, 25, 27, 27, 38, 66(8 weeks) |
Official Music Video (European version)
Official Music Video (Uk version)